MONTGOMERY -- In the early morning hours of last Sept. 6, Huntsville Police Officer Grady Thigpen responded to a "shots fired" call in the area of Drake Avenue.

What he found upon arrival was a woman seated on the ground in front of an SUV parked behind a church. She was holding a glass of wine and had a gun in her mouth.

"She was fixing to commit suicide and harm herself," said Thigpen. "She had already discharged one round and stated that the firearm was in good working order and the next shot she was going to harm herself."

But Thigpen, a four-year veteran of the Huntsville Police Department, quickly wrested the gun from her before she could fire another round.

For his actions, Thigpen, 28, a native of Florence, was honored by the Alabama Legislature on Thursday as one of four nominees for the annual Legislative Medal of Honor for Law Enforcement.

Thigpen, who was nominated by Huntsville Police Chief Mark Hudson, had earlier received the department's Life Saving Medal.

In his nomination letter, Hudson wrote:

"Officer Thigpen's quick actions prevented harm to a person who had already demonstrated her suicidal intent by firing a round just moments before he arrived. Officer Thigpen's actions were remarkable in that once he recognized the threat, without hesitation he took immediate action which resulted in preventing the individual from taking her own life."

The winner of the 2011 Legislative Medal of Honor for Law Enforcement was Gulf Shores Police Officer Christopher Bagby.

On Aug. 13, 2010, Bagby rescued a person trapped in an overturned and burning vehicle. After extinguishing the victims' burning clothes, he tried to rescue a second person from the vehicle but the flames were too intense.

In addition to Thigpen, other nominees honored in the House chamber were Deputy Scott Taylor of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department, Montgomery Police Officer J.A. Edwards and officer Timothy Joe Lindsey II of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Rep. Howard Sanderford, R-Huntsville, presided over the ceremonies at a joint session of the Legislature.